What Liberty
by AniHope
Summary: The Animorphs discover that the Yeerks have taken over the bank and are targeting the library next door. The Peace Movement is in danger, and a certain young Andalite has returned and is training her own Animorph.
1. Dingy Days

A/N This chapter is fairly short, I know, but I wanted to get it up today. This story takes place between books 45 and 46. So, Marco has recently become officially "dead," and Visser Three has just become Visser One. I apologize for the shortness, but I promise that further chapters will be better. Sorry about the ">>" thing. I don't know why only one side works. If it's too confusing, please let me know and I'll try something else next time. Happy Independence Day, everybody.

Disclaimer: We all know I don't own a thing, so let's just leave it at that, shall we?

* * *

My name is Rachel. 

And I was seriously annoyed at the Yeerks. It was Saturday and there were several huge sales at the mall that morning. But was I able to take advantage of any of them? No. I had to be out in the middle of the woods, searching for traces of a mysterious space ship that had crashed there last night.

On top of it all, it wasn't even a nice day out. It was a grey, rainy day. The kind of day on which one wants to be inside. Shopping.

I turned my thoughts back to the mission and trotted along, my wolf tail twitching. You'd think a space ship wouldn't be this hard to find, even in all these miles of forest. But we'd been searching for over an hour now, and so far hadn't found so much as a clue.

>Hey, guys!> Tobias called out suddenly. >I think I found something!>

From the air, Tobias directed us to a small clearing. The ship appeared to have crashed. There was almost nothing left of it but a charred lump of metal. It was impossible to tell what kind of ship it had been.

>Oh good,> Marco remarked, >I'm so glad we spent such a lovely Saturday searching for a heap of burnt metal.>

>No way anyone could have survived that,> I said, ignoring Marco.

>No,> Jake agreed.

>Prince Jake,> Ax began, >it is possible that this ship was crashed on purpose.>

>You think this was a suicide mission?>

>It's possible. Or there may not have been anyone in the ship when it crashed. It seems likely that the pilot may have left the ship before it hit the ground.>

>A trap?>

>I do not know. I am merely speculating.>

>Alright, well I don't think there's anything we can do about it now. Let's head back.>

We started back the way we'd come, but Tobias stopped us. >Guys, you really don't want to go that way. About two dozen Hork-Bajir and at least as many Human-Controllers coming this way. Along with our favorite Andalite-Controller.>

Jake said a word I won't repeat. >Alright. Other side of the clearing then.>

We ran back across, and crouched low behind a layer of underbrush. Tobias dropped down below the trees to keep from being seen. Seconds later, a mass of Hork-Bajir and Human-Controllers burst through the line of trees and into the clearing. They came to a stop and gathered around the remains of the ship. Visser One emerged from among them. I felt a shiver of fear and hatred run through me.

>What is the meaning of this!> The Visser was yelling. >Why have you all stopped— > He noticed the destroyed ship. >Well! What kind of ship was it! One of ours?>

The Human-Controllers in the front looked at each other nervously. "It's—it's impossible to tell for sure, Visser," one of them finally said. "It was most likely a small ship, but whether it was a Bug fighter or an Andalite fighter, we can't tell."

Visser One whipped his tail around and held the blade against the throat of the man who had spoken. >You will remove the remains and study them until you have an answer for me. Do I make myself clear?>

"Y-y-yes, Visser."

>Good.> The Visser removed his tail blade from the man's throat and turned to address the whole group. >Now get to work! I want this all cleaned up by the time I return from checking the progress at the bank.> He pointed to the three Controllers. >You, you, and you, come with me.> He started to leave, followed by the three Controllers, then stopped and turned around again. >I want half of you to search these woods. The pilot may have escaped.>

>What's happening at the bank?> Cassie wondered.

>I don't know, but I think we'd better move before the search party gets started,> responded Marco.

>Marco's right,> said Jake. >Let's get out of here. We can check out the bank later.>

A/N Alright, that's it for now. More soon, and I promise that there will be more of a plot in further chapters. Reviews would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.


	2. What Liberty?

A/N: Okay, this took me way longer than I thought it would. I know it's a fairly short chapter, but I'm hoping to have the next one up sooner. I know the first chapter was kind of boring, but it should start to get more interesting. I have a better idea of where this is going now. I was kind of hoping to have this up yesterday in honor of Martin Luther King Day, but I was too busy. So it'll have to be a day late.

Disclaimer: I own nothing…except maybe the plot.

Four days later, I sat on a bench in the park across from the bank, watching people walk in and out. So far we hadn't seen anything out of the ordinary.

>Anyone else feeling like this is a waste of time?> asked Marco. He, Jake, and Ax were gulls, circling the parking lot at the back of the building. Cassie was a squirrel in a nearby tree, and Tobias was circling overhead as usual.

>I wonder what the Yeerks would want with the bank anyway,> he wondered.

>Could just be a new entrance to the Yeerk Pool,> Jake suggested. >Though I admit, it is a bit disconcerting to think that the Yeerks could be in control of our money.>

>It's hard to imagine human money meaning too much to them,> said Marco, >but I agree it does seem fishy.>

>The Yeerks might not be interested in human money,> said Cassie, quietly, >but humans are.>

Tobias gave a wry laugh. >She's right. People will do almost anything for money. If they can control our money, they're that much closer to controlling us.>

No one said anything for a minute as we all pondered this depressing idea. Then Jake spoke. >We have to figure out what they're doing. Rachel, maybe you could go in and see if you can get any information.>

I was frustrated at not being able to be part of the conversation, but I just nodded, set down the book I'd been pretending to read, and started over to the bank. Once inside, I glanced around quickly then headed for a rack of brochures and pamphlets. Pretending to sift through them, I continued to look around.

I saw a woman we'd previously identified as a Controller step up to one of the teller windows. The bank teller handed her a slip of paper and the woman turned and walked to the other side of the bank. She stepped behind a short wall partition which blocked my view, but it only went up so far, and I could see the top of a door opening and closing.

I frowned and glanced down at the pamphlet I was holding. It was promoting an "exciting" new account option. I waited a little while longer, but there was no more activity around the wall partition. I left the building, still holding the pamphlet, and walked back to the bench. I gathered my things and got ready to go.

>Guys,> Tobias said suddenly. >Isn't that Tidwell? Coming out of the library.>

I turned to see Mr. Tidwell, a Controller who was part of the Yeerk Peace Movement, walking in my direction, carrying a stack of books. As he passed me, he stumbled slightly and a slip of paper fell to the ground. He continued walking without looking at me. I waited until he'd nearly reached the other side of the park before picking up the paper.

>Chapman alert!> Marco called.

I glanced casually back toward the bank. Chapman was leaving the building with another man—presumably another Controller. Neither of them had been in the bank when I'd gone in. They crossed the parking lot and stood in front of the library next door as though studying it for a minute, before entering through the door Mr. Tidwell had walked out of only moments before.

>Okay,> said Marco, >something is definitely up.>

I nodded and looked down at the paper in my hand. I frowned. It looked like it was just a list of numbers. The first one was a temperature—451ºF. Wondering if I was supposed to understand that, I started out of the park to find a good place to morph.

A/N I promise the purpose of this story will start to become clearer. And sometime in the next two chapters, I'll get back to what happened with the ship in the first chapter. All will be revealed…just…not quite yet.


	3. But a Book

A/N Okay, I know I said this one would be up sooner, but apparently I lied. Well, now it's summer and I have more time. So, anyway, Happy Flag Day, and enjoy!

* * *

Once we were all back in the barn, I produced the piece of paper, and studied it again. There were three sets of numbers, with two or three in each. The others were looking at me expectantly. I shrugged. "It's just a bunch of numbers." I handed the paper to Jake. "Dates and times, maybe?" 

Jake frowned, looking at the paper. "Surely it's not some kind of code?" He ran a hand through his hair. "And why the temperature? 451º?"

Cassie, who'd been kneeling in front of the cages, checking on a groundhog with a broken leg, looked up very suddenly. Tobias raised his eyebrows, interestedly. Marco yawned and said, "Maybe it's not a message at all, and he was just writing down the page numbers of recipes he liked in his favorite cookbook."

Cassie laughed. "That's it! Page numbers!" Marco looked startled at being taken seriously, and before anyone could ask Cassie what she meant, she had run off into the house.

Jake looked around at the rest of us, bewildered. I shook my head. "I don't know much about cooking," I said, "but I'm pretty sure there aren't many recipes that tell you to heat the oven to 451º Fahrenheit."

"The temperature at which books burn," said Tobias softly.

I turned to look at him. "What?"

Before he could explain, Cassie ran back into the barn, clutching a small, paperback book. She held it up so we could all see the cover. Fahrenheit 451. Ray Bradbury.

Jake raised his eyebrows. "Okay. I guess it is page numbers." He handed Cassie the piece of paper.

She sat down on one of the hay bales and opened the book. She glanced down at the page, then back at the paper. "The first number in each set is obviously the page number, but what is '3-6'?" She looked back at the book and ran her eyes over the page. Then she nodded. "Paragraphs. Paragraphs three through six."

"Four whole paragraphs on just the first page?" Marco asked, dismally.

"They're short," Cassie assured him. "It's dialogue." She started to read.

"'Do you ever read any of the books you burn?'" She glanced up at us, then continued. "He laughed. 'That's against the law!'" I looked around at the others. Jake was standing with his arms crossed and brow furrowed, trying to understand. Marco was sitting back on the hay bales, frowning as he concentrated on the words. Tobias was listening with that hawk intensity, but he had a small, sad smile on his face, and I remembered that he'd recognized what 451º meant. He must have read the book before.

"'Oh. Of course.'" Cassie kept reading. "'It's fine work. Monday burn Millay, Wednesday Whitman, Friday Faulkner, burn 'em to ashes, then burn the ashes. That's our official slogan.'" She looked up.

"That's it?" asked Jake. She nodded.

>I don't understand,> said Ax, puzzled. >What is this book?>

"It's a fictional story about a society in which owning books is illegal and dangerous,"Cassie explained. "Books are burned to keep the people who might read them from being smarter than anyone else. So everyone is equal."

"So, what? The Yeerks are going to start burning books now, is that it?" asked Marco.

"I don't know," said Cassie, shaking her head. "I guess we'd better keep reading." She flipped through to the next page. "'You weren't there, you didn't _see_,' he said. 'There must be something in books, things we can't imagine, to make a woman stay in a burning house; there must be something there. You don't stay for nothing.'"

Somberly, she turned to the final page and read. "'Jesus God,' said Montag. 'Every hour so many damn things in the sky! How in hell did those bombers get up there every single second of our lives! Why doesn't someone want to talk about it! We've started and won two atomic wars since 1990! Is it because we're having so much fun at home we've forgotten the world? Is it because we're so rich and the rest of the world's so poor and we just don't care if they are? I've heard rumors; the world is starving, but we're so well fed. Is it true, the world works hard and we play? Is that why we're hated so much? I've heard the rumors about hate, too, once in a long while, over the years. Do _you_ know why? _I_ don't, that's _sure_! Maybe the books can get us half out of the cave. They just _might_ stop us from making the same damn insane mistakes!'" Cassie stopped and closed the book.

Jake frowned and sat down. "Okay," he said, "so...what?"

I shook my head, just as clueless as he was. It was Tobias who spoke up. "It means the Yeerks have discovered the power books can have."

Cassie nodded. "Books make you think. They make you question things. And they give you hope and strength to endure."

Marco raised his eyebrows. "I think English teachers have been trying to say that since the beginning of time. I never believed them."

"Do you remember John Berryman? Visser Four's host?" Cassie asked, ignoring Marco. How could we forget? John Berryman no longer existed because of us. Cassie continued, without waiting for an answer. "Do you remember how he tormented the Visser constantly by reciting lines from _Henry V_?"

"That's right," I said, suddenly remembering. "That's why he went to Agincourt to stop Henry from winning the war."

Jake frowned again. "Wait, why don't I remember this? Where was I?"

"You were dead," supplied Marco.

"Oh. Right."

"The point is," said Cassie, "that no matter how much control Visser Four had over John Berryman's body, he couldn't take away the memory of that play. The Yeerks want us to be as unable to resist as possible. They don't want us to think and question and hope."

"But what can they do about it?" asked Marco. "They can't publicly start burning books."

"No," Tobias answered, "but if they control the library, they can at least be in control of the supply of books, and they can find out who the most well-read people are. Who they might have the most trouble with. You can find out a lot about people by what they choose to read."

Cassie was looking down at the piece of paper in her hand again. She flipped it over, and gasped. "There's a date! A date and time. I'm sure that's what this is."

We all crowded around to see. Sure enough, written in small numbers on the back of the paper were a date and time. "That's Tuesday," I said. "At 4 o'clock." I frowned. "But where?"

"The library?" Jake suggested. "It's worth a try anyway. I don't think we should all go, though. At least not in human form. Cassie, you're probably the least likely to look out of place in the library."

"Hey," said Marco. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Marco, you're supposed to be dead, remember?"

"Oh yeah."

"Not that you ever went to the library when you were alive," I added.

"And you go there all the time, I'm sure," he retorted.

"_So_," said Jake loudly. "Cassie will go as human, and the rest of us will tag along as flies."

"Which I'm sure the library staff will appreciate immensely," Marco commented.

"Tuesday at 4 o'clock," said Jake. "We'll figure out what's going on."

* * *

A/N Well, that was great fun. See you next time—which will hopefully be much sooner. But don't take my word for it. :-) Oh yeah, and I do not own Animorphs or Fahrenheit 451. They belong to K.A. Applegate and Ray Bradbury, respectively. 


	4. The Precious Words

A/N - Hey, I really am updating this sooner! What do you know?

Disclaimer: Can we just assume that all earlier disclaimers apply to all future chapters? Thanks.

* * *

Tuesday afternoon, I entered the library as one of four flies, following Cassie at a reasonable distance. Four flies circling one girl's head might have looked a little odd. Cassie browsed through the shelves as made her way around the library. She finally found Mr. Tidwell in the poetry section. 

"Cassie," he said with a smile. "Glad you could make it. I've been meaning to talk to you about that history report of yours. Come this way." He lead her to a collection of comfortable chairs in the corner, where they wouldn't be overheard. We followed and settled on the back of the chair Cassie sat in.

"I assume you've figured out some information by now about what's going on," said Mr. Tidwell.

"Well, we know the Yeerks have taken over the bank and made a new Yeerk Pool entrance there," Cassie responded. "And they're targeting the library now." She gestured around her.

Tidwell nodded. "It's all about getting more control. A number of the librarians here have already been infested. The head librarian, Mr. Lewis, is the main target. We've recently found out that Visser One plans to have him infested tomorrow night. The plan is to burn the whole library and probably the bookstore too. Infesting Mr. Lewis would reduce the chance that a new library would open up."

"That's crazy!" Cassie said, astonished.

>Even if they burn every source of books in town, people will still be able to get them from other places,> said Marco, >expanding the range of his thought-speak so Mr. Tidwell could hear.>

"Yes," Mr. Tidwell agreed, unsuprised to hear Marco's thought-speak voice. "But it will be the first step toward the goal." He glanced toward the front desk. "The other members of the Peace Movement and I had been using this as a meeting place. We have already been forced to stop, but I'm sure that Lewis has noticed our group enough that were he to be infested, his Yeerk might become suspicious."

Cassie nodded. "So we should come back tomorrow night and try to stop the attack and keep Mr. Lewis from being infested." She glanced at the small group of flies perched near her shoulder, looking at us expectantly.

>I'd say it sounds important enough that we should do what we can,> said Jake. >Any objections?>

No one spoke up. >Let's do it!> I said finally, jumping up into a crazy fly spiral.

"Your help will be greatly appreciated," said Mr. Tidwell, rising from his chair. "Good luck!" Cassie rose as well, and strolled casually through the bookshelves briefly before leaving.

A/N - Sorry. I know that was pitifully short. I hope it's not too confusing. I have no idea when the next one will be up. It might be awhile, but maybe I will be motivated by my desire to finish this story. We'll see!


End file.
